COLONIE -- When Jeff Thomas, president of WeatherGuard Roofing Co. in Schenectady, was invited to be part of an episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," his reaction was "What's that?"

"I'm probably the only guy on the face of the Earth who doesn't watch the show," he said Friday.

So he got some friends together one Sunday night a few weeks ago and did so.

"I'm not a teary guy," said the president of the Schenectady roofing company. "But I had the box of Kleenex out when I watched it."

ABC's "Extreme Makeover" is the popular Sunday night show that selects needy families around the country and recruits volunteers to build them a luxury house. In this case, a damaged 1970s-era ranch home on Fairway Lane owned by Debbie Oatman and her four sons will be replaced by a 3,700-square-foot custom home built entirely with high-end products. In one week.

And it's all being donated by local businesses.

They're providing the concrete and pouring it too. They're providing the wood and nailing it together. They're installing the plumbing and heating, the flooring and carpeting. They're donating high-end toilets and gleaming granite countertops. And they're paying their workers to labor on this fast-paced, around-the-clock project -- except for the employees who have volunteered to work for free.

They might get some mention in the show, or perhaps even a few moments of broadcast fame. But business owners say it's not about the publicity.

Indeed, this business of construction is not generally considered touchy-feely. But you might not know that talking to those involved.

The home-construction business is a close-knit trade, all about relationships and collaboration. And this project all began with Sunbelt Rentals, a company based in Charlotte, N.C., that has been working with "Extreme Makeover" for more than 60 shows.

"They wanted to come to upstate New York," recalled Mike DeBrino, district manager for Sunbelt's Latham branch. "They asked for a builder. ... One phone call and it was done."

"It's a compelling story," he said. "The love that the mother gives to her four sons -- we just had to get involved."

The company, which has built developments in Clifton Park, Rotterdam and Queensbury, has done charitable work before. But never anything like this.

Show rules give Amedore and friends a week to demolish the old house and build a new one. That means nonstop work, with hundreds of workers on the site at all times. Equipment will be arriving at all hours of the day and night. Generators will power banks of lights. Bad weather will have to be shrugged off.

It normally takes Amedore 90 days to build a house. The fastest they ever built one was in 54 days, for a client who was in a hurry.

"We've got to build a home in 106 hours," Amedore said. "You can imagine how much we've got to manage."

So this time it was Amedore's turn to pick up the phone. He started calling all the companies he works with to see who was in.

"We said absolutely," said Dan Manley, transportation manager at Clemente Latham Concrete. The firm will supply eight mixing trucks carrying about 100 cubic yards of concrete. This will be used to form the poured concrete slab for the house and to create an in-ground pool in the backyard.

Jeff Smith, co-owner of Schenectady Floor Covering, also got the call. The company is expecting to get to work at about 11 p.m. Tuesday, if all goes as planned.

"We've got a crew of 37 guys ready to go," he said. "We've got about a thousand feet of hardwood and 2,500 square feet of carpet."

For the businesses, taking part is not cheap. Before news of the filming broke, show designers visited companies like Schenectady Floor to choose the products for the show. And Smith reports that these designers have tastes definitely near the high end -- more than $10,000 worth of product.

Still, Smith said, "How can you say no?"

Wechsler can be reached at 454-5469 or by e-mail at awechsler@timesunion.com.